Community Engagement

A community is a group of people who share something in common. You can define a community by the shared
attributes of the people in it and/or by the strength of the connections among them. You need a bunch of people who
are alike in some way, who feel some sense of belonging or interpersonal connection.

A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as norms, religion, values, customs,
or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g., a country, village, town,
or neighborhood) or in virtual space through communication platforms. Durable relations that extend beyond
immediate genealogical ties also define a sense of community, important to their identity, practice, and roles in social
institutions such as family, home, work, government, society, or humanity at large. Although communities are usually
small relative to personal social ties, "community" may also refer to large group affiliations such as national
communities, international communities, and virtual communities.

The English-language word "community" derives from the Old from the Latin communitas "community", "public
spirit" (from Latin communis, "common").

Human communities may share intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, and risks in common, affecting the
identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.

According to David M. Chavis & Kien Lee, “Community” is so easy to say. The word itself connects us with each
other. It describes an experience so common that we never really take time to explain it. It seems so simple, so natural,
and so human. In the social sector, we often add it to the names of social innovations as a symbol of good intentions (for
example, community mental health, community policing, community-based philanthropy, community economic
development.)

However, the meaning of community is complex. Insufficient understanding of what a community is and its role
in the lives of people in diverse societies has led to the downfall of many well-intended “community” efforts.

Types of Community

• A formal group is formed when people come together to accomplish specific goals and objectives.
• An informal group is formed when two or more people come together to accomplish a specific task which is
mainly socially geared.
• An urban area is the region surrounding a city. An area with high density of population.
• A rural area is an open swath of land that has few homes or other buildings, and not very many people. A
rural area’s population density is very low.
• A global community are the people or nations of the world, considered as being closely connected by
modern telecommunications and as being economically, socially, and politically interdependent.
• Sectoral means relating to the various economic sectors of a society or to a particular economic sector.
o A social space is physical or virtual space such as a social center, online social media, or other
gathering place where people gather and interact.

There are, broadly speaking, five common features of communities. You can classify every type of community by
the purpose that brings them together.
1. Interest. Communities of people who share the same interest or passion.
2. Action. Communities of people trying to bring about change.
3. Place. Communities of people brought together by geographic boundaries.
4. Practice. Communities of people in the same profession or undertake the same activities.
5. Circumstance. Communities of people brought together by external events/situations.

About 90% of community projects, especially branded communities, try to develop a community of interest. But
a community of interest competes with our mental leisure time. Communities of interest are the hardest type of
community to develop.
 Community Dynamics is the process of change and development in communities of all living organisms—
including plants, microorganisms, and small 6 and large creatures of every sort. Populations of an organism will appear
in an environment as its requirements for establishment are met.

What could it be used for?

- For commissioners, policy-makers and anybody else involved in the design and delivery of local services,
Community Dynamics data can be used to bring additional depth into the understanding of your local areas.
Particularly, these data sets could have a role to play in projects and initiatives looking to work in a more
asset-based way.

Importance of Understanding Community Dynamics and Community Action

Community Dynamics is the change and development involved in a community that includes all forms of living
organisms.
Community Action is putting communities as the center of the services development and services delivery. This
initiative aims to cater the primary needs of the communities before implementing it. In such way, community action
will help the community dynamics or the degree of improvement of the community.
It is important to understand these two because these will propel the success and stability of the communities.
They go hand in hand and are proportionally related.

What is community action?

- Community action is any activity that increases the understanding, engagement and empowerment of
communities in the design and delivery of local services. It includes a broad range of activities and is
sometimes described as ‘social action' or ‘community engagement'. These activities can vary in their
objective, the role the community plays, the types of activities involved, their scale and their integration
within the council. What they have in common is that they all involve greater engagement of local citizens in
the planning, design and delivery of local services

Why is community action important?

- Community action is about putting communities at the heart of their own local services. Involving
communities in the design and delivery of services can help to achieve a number of objectives, including:
• Building community and social capacity – helping the community to share knowledge, skills and
ideas.
• Community resilience – helping the community to support itself.
• Prevention – a focus on early access to services or support, engagement in design, cross-sector
collaboration and partnerships.
• Maintaining and creating wealth – for example helping people into employment or developing
community enterprises.

Role of the Community

The role the community includes community consultation, joint planning, joint design, joint delivery and
community-led activities.

Applied Social Sciences

These are social science disciplines, professions and occupations which seek to use basic social science research
and theory to improve the daily life of communities, organizations and persons.

Social Science Careers

The occupations listed below are a selection of those which may interest Social Sciences students and graduates
from the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research.

1. Advice Worker- Advice Workers provide information, advice and guidance on a range of topics depending on the
role. These topics may include housing, employment, welfare, education, finance and law.
2. Civil Service Career- The Civil Service delivers public services according to government policies. There are a large
number of different departments and so a huge variety of different roles.
3. Charity Officer- here are a variety of different roles within charities including project management, volunteer co-
ordination and fund raising.
4. Community Development Worker- Working in communities and liaising with different agencies to bring about
change and improvements. Some work may be targeted towards certain groups of people e.g. the unemployed
or the homeless.
5. Community Education Officer- Promoting and coordinating a range of educational options to members of a local
community
6. Equality and Diversity Officer- Equality Officers promote diversity and work to ensure that people are treated
fairly and not discriminated against for characteristics including race, gender, age or disability.
7. Family Support Worker- Working with families facing a variety of difficulties and helping them to solve problems
and move forward.
8. Housing Officer- Housing Officers work for local authorities or housing associations to manage rented
accommodation including solving problems raised by tenants, 8 organizing maintenance, allocating properties
and dealing with payment issues. Housing Policy Officers develop policies for local authorities or housing
associations.
9. Human Resources Officer- Human Resources Officers aim to ensure that organizations have a skilled and
efficient workforce. They are involved in recruitment and selection, training and development, grievance and
discipline and provide advice on employment law.
10. Immigration, Customs and Border Roles- There are a variety of roles involving monitoring people, banned
substances and other goods leaving and entering the country to ensure safety and security and to maintain the
law.
11. Intelligence Analyst- Analyzing and assessing intelligence data largely for the purposes of security and crime
prevention.
12. International Aid/Development Worker- Working to improve the lives of people in developing countries.
13. Legal Careers- Providing legal services to clients.
14. Local Government Careers- Developing policies and delivering local services. There are a huge variety of roles
within local government including roles in social care, housing and education to name just a few.
15. Mediator- Working with people to help them solve conflicts and disagreements.
16. Police Officer- Police Officers work to make communities safer by maintaining the law and preventing crime.
17. Prison Officer- Prison Officers are responsible for maintaining security in prisons and supporting the
rehabilitation of prisoners.
18. Probation Officer- Probation Officers work with offenders and aim to reduce rates of re-offending and protect
the public.
19. Psychologist- There are a range of different psychologist roles but broadly they help clients to improve their
psychological well-being.
20. Psychotherapy, Counselling and mental Roles- Supporting people to overcome a range of psychological or
emotional difficulties.
21. Social Researcher- Social Researchers could work for universities or research/market research organizations.
Social research covers a wide range of topics including crime, transport and education. Social Researchers
manage research projects including collecting and analyzing data and presenting the results.
22. Social Worker- Social Workers work with people in the community who need support, for example, the elderly,
children who are at risk, people with disabilities or mental health difficulties.
23. Substance Misuse Worker- Supporting clients to overcome their problems with drug, alcohol or solvent misuse.
24. Teacher/Lecturer/Education Roles- There are a variety of opportunities within education from primary schools
to universities.
25. Victim Care Officer- Providing help to people who have been victims of crime, including supporting them during
court proceedings.
26. Volunteer Coordinator- Managing the recruitment, training, placement and retention of volunteers.
27. Youth Offending Officer- Working with young offenders with the aim of reducing rates of re-offending and
supporting young people to achieve positive outcomes.
28. Youth Worker- Working with young people to provide support, raise aspirations and break down barriers to
achieving. This is done in a variety of ways including through recreational activities, organizing projects,
mentoring and liaising with other agencies.